CHAPTER 217: CHAPTER 216: PREPARING DINNER (7TH UPDATE)

Back in the kitchen, Mu Shuangshuang’s face was so hot it could probably cook an egg. She didn’t say much to Zhao Yun and quickly got busy with dinner.

If she delayed any longer, they wouldn’t get to eat dinner.

She quickly washed the vegetables she had picked and put them in a big bowl.

Next was the fish, which had been scaled. To add flavor, she intentionally cut a few lines on its back.

The house didn’t have a strainer yet, nor any tools for draining water, so almost everything was replaced with other items.

Since there were eggs, Mu Shuangshuang decided to follow her plan: make a cucumber salad, bitter melon with scrambled eggs, stir-fry some peppers, and finally, braise three big fishes.

Four dishes, but the portions were several times the usual amount. Mu Shuangshuang dried the bitter melon slices and then began cracking the eggs. There were five people in the family, plus Fengzi and Yuanbao, making it seven. Mu Shuangshuang took three eggs, cracked them into a bowl, and stirred them with chopsticks.

The sound of "da da da" echoed in the kitchen. Outside, Lu Yuanfeng put the fish he’d caught into Zhao Yun’s wooden bucket, reminding her to change the water several times at night so the fish wouldn’t die.

After sending Zhao Yun off, the kids came back. The three little ones seemed very happy, each holding a chirping cicada, their faces radiant with innocent smiles only children have.

Seeing Lu Yuanfeng, they all gathered around.

Yuanbao started bragging again, "Second brother, I’m amazing. You know, Little Zhi’s cicada was caught by me, it’s really big."

Catching cicadas wasn’t actually difficult for Yuanbao, but boasting daily and seeking praise was something he had to do.

Lu Yuanfeng was patient enough to listen to him and occasionally asked a few questions.

Mu Xiaohan wasn’t as courteous, he called out once upon seeing Lu Yuanfeng and pretty much stayed silent afterwards.

Lu Yuanfeng just thought he was shy and didn’t mind too much.

"Hey, Little Zhi, let’s go play with Little Black. I haven’t seen it in so long," Yuanbao suddenly suggested, remembering that the clever Little Black, which was even smarter than a mouse.

"Sure, but Little Black hasn’t had dinner yet. There’s no meat at home."

Little Zhi’s face fell; Little Black ate a tiny amount of meat each meal, about the size of a little finger.

Sometimes Sister Shuangshuang would buy a bit, sometimes Little Black would catch some weird small animals like mice.

But it’s so hot out, they need replacing every day or so, otherwise they start smelling.

"Little Zhi, you forgot we have fish at home. Little Black could eat fish too," Lu Yuanfeng laughed and pointed to the fish in the bucket.

Little Zhi’s eyes immediately lit up, and he jumped with joy, "Yeah, Little Black has fish to eat now! Little Black won’t go hungry!"

Their pet was a treasure to Little Zhi; he didn’t want it starving.

Mrs. Lin had been hiding in the shadows for a long time, watching those fish. Originally planning to snatch a few when the brat wasn’t looking, who knew that annoying Feng had been standing in the yard, making it hard for her to act.

Such delicious things, and she couldn’t taste them. It’s exasperating.

"Second daughter-in-law, how long are you going to take with your business? Everyone’s waiting for you to start dinner, if you’re not eating, don’t bother coming."

When dinner was nearly ready, Mrs. Lin came out claiming she had a stomach ache. But now dinner was on the table, and she was nowhere to be seen. Old Mrs. Mu thought she must be at the third son’s place and came over to drag her in.

Mrs. Lin was smart and knew Old Mrs. Mu came over wanting fish, so she said.

"Mom, I don’t think the brat respects you at all. I just saw her give fish to the second daughter-in-law of the Zhang Family, Mrs. Zhao, and that ferret beast of hers. Feng also said to give a fish for it to eat, and you..."

Old Mrs. Mu’s anger rose quickly, giving fish to Mrs. Zhao was one thing; she knew Mrs. Zhao had a good relationship with that hag Yu Si Niang. But a pitch-black ferret having something to eat too, what’s that about?

"Mom, I think we should call Gou Dan’s dad and his fifth uncle to come over and grab them by force. We can’t be outdone by a brat, can we?"

Old Mrs. Mu thought for a while and quickly shook her head. "No, we can’t do that. If your dad finds out, we’ll get a good scolding."

"Then how about tonight..." Mrs. Lin left the rest unsaid, but Old Mrs. Mu understood.

While stealing fish isn’t honorable, can dishonor compare to a brat showing disrespect even to her real grandmother?

"I’m not taking part in this, you handle it yourself." After speaking, Old Mrs. Mu quickly went back to her room.

Mrs. Lin took several glances at the big wooden bucket, nearly drooling.

Mu Shuangshuang was preparing dinner and didn’t know what was happening outside in the yard. At this point, she was already adding fire to the stove and putting water into the iron jug next to the pan.

Lu Yuanfeng had built a stove with two hearths for their household, allowing placement of two pots side by side, one for boiling dishes later and one for stir-frying.

Between the two pots, there were two iron jugs embedded. As soon as the stove started burning, the jugs would heat up.

With dinner prepared, water in the jugs would be hot enough for bathing, though Mu Shuangshuang’s household hadn’t used theirs yet. The water needed warming for at least three days, only after three days could it be used for bathing.

With the water ready, the stir-fry pan was also hot.

Just in time, the rapeseed oil brought over by Aunt Xiao Yun was put to use. She poured oil from the jug into a bowl, then scooped a bit of it into the pan. When the unique rapeseed scent dispersed, Mu Shuangshuang poured the beaten eggs into the pan all at once.

The sizzling sound started, and the eggs began to set. Mu Shuangshuang quickly flipped the eggs with a spatula; once they turned golden yellow, she scooped them all up.

Bitter melon with scrambled eggs consisted of two steps: first scrambling the eggs, second stir-frying the bitter melon. After adding more oil to the pan, Mu Shuangshuang placed chopped garlic into the pan to sauté until fragrant, then poured in the bitter melon.

Bitter melon is harder to cook than eggs; generally, Mu Shuangshuang would wait until the bitter melon was almost cooked before adding the scrambled eggs back in. Once both were cooked, she’d add salt.

Instantly, the vivid green paired with golden accents of the bitter melon with scrambled eggs was ready. Though it wasn’t a fancy dish, just the colors made Mu Shuangshuang feel a surge of appetite.

Finally, braising the fish, which Mu Shuangshuang left for last, so that when Yu Si Niang returned, the fish would still be hot, eliminating any fishy taste.

Just as she was thinking that, Yu Si Niang’s voice came from outside, and Mu Shuangshuang heard several children sweetly calling her mom, with Yuanbao dramatically calling her Aunt Si.

Upon hearing the voices, Mu Shuangshuang hastened her dinner preparations even more.